


A Masterful Promise

by brightpinkballerina



Series: Family Matters [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Babies, F/M, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, NICU, Original Character(s), Promises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 09:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightpinkballerina/pseuds/brightpinkballerina
Summary: Ash had vowed to never use his title to get his way. He absolutely loved being the Pokémon Master, but he hated the idea of using it to his advantage. He didn’t want to get special treatment just because of who he was.Sometimes, however, you don't have a choice.
Relationships: Kasumi | Misty/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Family Matters [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785139
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	A Masterful Promise

_“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about pulling the ‘Pokémon Master’ card. But I didn’t, because it isn’t right. That’s called taking advantage. We shouldn’t expect to be treated differently because of who I am.”_

Michelle always remembered those words from her father. When she was little, she didn’t fully understand what his job was. She just knew that he battled all the time, would sometimes be gone for longer periods of time to do just that, and seemed very popular with lots of people. It wasn’t until she was about four years old that she realized just how big of a deal he really was.

He was the Pokémon Master. The most powerful trainer in the entire world. 

Even now, that amazed Michelle. She just thought of him as her dad. To her, at the end of the day, there wasn’t any difference between him and anyone else’s father. But in reality, he was a big deal. He was a celebrity. People viewed him a certain way.

Michelle could never get over the fact that nearly the whole world didn’t know her father the way she did. Or her siblings did. Or her mother did. Or even his many, _many_ friends.

That’s why Michelle knew, even without having to hear it directly from her father, that he would never use his title to get preferential treatment. He just wasn’t that kind of person. He was kind, and good, and wholly honest. It was for all of those reasons that Michelle looked up to him. She knew she wasn’t the only person in the world who did…there were many. But she was sure she was one of the few who did for those specific reasons.

“Do you really think Dad _never_ pulled the Pokémon Master card? Like…ever?”

Michelle looked up from her book to scowl at her brother. “Of course, I do. Why would he?”

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. “I was just curious. You know I think it’s cool that he doesn’t! But you kinda have to wonder if there was ever something where Dad felt like he had to do it.”

“I don’t,” Michelle replied simply. “Because I don’t think there’s anything that could push him into doing that.”

Her brother, however, wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t that he thought his father was conniving, or a liar. Hardly. Aiden worshiped the ground his father walked on. But he also knew that his father would do whatever it took to stand up for the things he loved or believed in. Even if, morally speaking, it might have ultimately been considered wrong.

“Why are you thinking about that, anyway?” Michelle prodded, regaining Aiden’s attention. She had put her book down, signaling that he had fully distracted her. “It sure seems random.”

Begrudgingly, Aiden admitted, “I was in here when Mom was watching one of her weird shows the other day. I have no idea what it was about, or what was really going on, but one of the guys broke the law to save his Pokémon. Dad would never do that…I think…but it made me think about him using his title to get something, since he’s usually super against it, cause that’s kind of like a similar thing.”

“Well…did you ask Mom?” Michelle asked, her voice taking on a teasing tone.

“Yeah,” Aiden replied easily, causing his sister’s eyes to widen. “What’s with _that_ look?”

“I wasn’t being serious!” Michelle hissed.

“Oh, well, I asked,” Aiden repeated, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, she didn’t really give me an answer. She just got kinda nervous and said sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, even if it doesn’t feel right. But that Dad isn’t ‘really’ that kind of person. I don’t know. I wasn’t totally convinced.”

Michelle wasn’t sure what to make of that. In all honesty, she didn’t know if she _believed_ her brother. He always liked to try and get a rise out of her, and unfortunately, it normally worked. At the same time, however, Michelle knew how much Aiden looked up to their father as well, and she was well aware that he didn’t generally use the man in his schemes to frustrate her.

Furrowing her brow, Michelle jumped off the couch, a bewildered Aiden watching her. “Hey, where are you going?!”

He too got to his feet and ran after her, grabbing the sliding back door before it could close on him after Michelle had thrown it behind her. She hadn’t done it on purpose, however; in fact, Michelle didn’t even notice her brother was right behind her. Michelle’s sights were set solely on her mother, who was doing some outdoor training in the backyard with her Pokémon.

“Mom!” Michelle called to get her attention. It worked, and Misty looked up with a smile.

“Hi, sweetheart!” Misty greeted.

“I have to ask you something,” Michelle rushed out, stopping just a few feet away as she hid her hands behind her back.

“Of course, anything!” Misty giggled, signaling for her Pokémon to go ahead and take a break.

“Is it true that Dad has used his title to get something he wanted?” Michelle blurted out, unable to help herself.

Misty looked surprised, but when she saw Aiden sneaking up behind his sister, she let out a long sigh. “Okay, I see where this came from.”

“I was only asking her because I wanted to know what she thought!” Aiden cried, alarming Michelle. “You didn’t really tell me what happened, Mom.”

Misty frowned and slumped her shoulders. “Guys, it isn’t what you think. Your dad has never used to title to ‘get something he wanted.’”

“But you made it sound like he’s still used it before,” Michelle murmured.

Contemplating it for a moment, Misty finally responded, “only once. And it wasn’t for something trivial. I know for a fact he isn’t proud of doing it, but he doesn’t regret it either. He didn’t feel like he had a choice.”

Michelle looked terribly concerned, but Aiden was sporting a look of serious interest. “Okay, now I’ve _gotta_ know!”

“It’s not really my place to tell you,” Misty murmured, shaking her head. “Maybe you should ask Dad to tell you himself.”

“Come on, you know he’ll never do that!” Aiden scoffed. “Especially since you just said it was something he wasn’t proud of.”

Misty bit her lower lip before turning her gaze onto Michelle. The younger girl looked almost pained, like whatever this secret was might just destroy her. Misty knew how much Michelle adored her father, and she definitely didn’t want her to think that he had ever deliberately misled her…because that was far from the truth.

Sighing, Misty took a seat on the ground, leading Aiden and Michelle to do the same as they stared at her in interest. “It was right after the two of you were born. Remember we told you that Michelle was sick as a baby?”

Aiden and Michelle both nodded their heads.

“Well, when a baby is born sick like that, they have to be put in a special part of the hospital, away from the other babies,” Misty explained. “And that special area has a lot of rules. So, we couldn’t just visit Michelle whenever we wanted.”

Michelle’s eyes flickered with realization. “Dad didn’t like that…did he?”

Misty smirked and murmured, “you know your father.”

* * *

Ash’s worry about becoming a father had all but vanished as soon as he saw Aiden and Michelle.

New worry had arisen, however, when Michelle was whisked away right after she was born. Ash had no idea what could’ve been wrong; he’d gotten a pretty good look at the baby, and she seemed perfect to him. But ultimately, he’d had to quickly turn his attention to Misty instead, who had lost consciousness shortly after the girl was born. By the time things had settled down, he realized the little girl had never been brought back. He just assumed the doctors were still checking her out, or that she was resting in the nursery alongside her brother. But when Misty had eventually come to and started to get upset despite her exhaustion, Ash knew _something_ was up.

“She didn’t cry,” Misty wheezed to Ash, her eyes frantically searching his face.

“Isn’t that good?” Ash asked naively. “I just thought that meant she was happy!”

Misty groaned and shook her head, fighting to keep her eyes open. “Th-they cry to breathe! She didn’t cry!”

Ash tried to get Misty to relax, but to no avail. When the doctor returned with a serious look on his face, however, Misty became very quiet, very quickly.

He informed the new parents that their daughter had been born with underdeveloped lungs, which was serious but not unheard of, especially when the baby was premature and a twin. He’d further explained that he wasn’t overly concerned about her prognosis, but as a necessary measure, she’d been sent to the NICU for treatment.

“I have to see her,” Misty demanded, trying to sit up.

“Misty, no!” Ash cried, gently grabbing her shoulders. “You’re in no condition to be going anywhere!”

As if giving birth to twins hadn’t been strenuous enough, it turned out that Misty had nearly bled out after the whole ordeal; the cause of her loss of consciousness. And while the transfusion they’ve given her seemed to be working, she had still just woken up from having a brush with death. 

With nothing more than a whimper, Misty fell back into bed, her face contorted from agony. Ash assumed part of it was physical (she was as tough as they came, but even Ash knew there was _no way_ Misty wasn’t feeling everything that had just happened to her body), but in his heart, he was well aware it was predominantly from emotional distress.

“There’s no need for you to push yourself, Misty,” the doctor assured her. “Your daughter is in very good hands, and you still have a long way to go in your recovery. As soon as you physically feel up to it, we’ll be able to take you to see her.”

Misty said nothing in response. For a brief moment, Ash thought she had fallen asleep, or worse, back into unconsciousness. But then he saw her gently bite her lower lip; a telltale sign that she was frustrated and had nothing else to say. 

The doctor, of course, didn’t know Misty nearly as well as Ash, so he fell for the bait and instead offered Ash a sympathetic nod before turning on a heel and walking out of the room. As soon as she heard his footsteps grow quieter, Misty reopened her eyes. Despite the situation at hand, Ash couldn’t help but to be amused. His wife was very stubborn, and even after everything she’d been through, she just couldn’t help herself.

“What do you need?” Ash practically whispered, threading Misty’s bright red hair through his fingers. 

With obvious struggle, Misty turned her head to stare Ash right in his deep brown eyes as she softly implored, “go see her.”

Ash’s fingers stilled. “By myself?”

Misty nodded.

Ash lowered his hand, feeling Misty’s hair fall with it. “I don’t know if I can go without you. She’s _our_ daughter…shouldn’t we go see her together?”

“I need to know that she’s okay,” Misty rasped, ignoring Ash’s question.

“I’m sure she is,” Ash tried to convince her. “You heard the doctor; he said she’s in good hands. You don’t believe him?”

Misty tried to lift her hand, but she had no strength to do so. Frowning, Ash reached down and grabbed it himself, earning a weak smile from his exhausted wife.

“I want to hear it from you,” Misty pleaded. “You’re her father, Ash. She needs _somebody_ to be there for her. I can’t stand knowing that she’s all alone.”

That was the final push Ash needed to heed Misty’s request. Leaning forward, he kissed her temple, and against her still clammy skin, whispered, “okay. I’ll go.”

As he got up, Misty’s smile managed to strengthen, and that’s when she slipped into a true, peaceful sleep. His confidence surging, Ash walked out of the room himself and followed the signage in the hallways to the aforementioned NICU.

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but his first look through the window was extremely sobering. All of the machines, the doctors and nurses floating around…it hardly seemed like a happy place. Nothing like the nursery where they’d taken Aiden to after running all of his tests.

And then, in the furthest corner of the room, he caught sight of a flash of bright red hair, and he just knew, from the brief moment he’d seen her before, he was looking at his baby girl.

It was then that the door to the room opened up, reminding him of the task at hand. A nurse had just walked out, and so Ash pulled back his shoulders and approached her, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Excuse me,” he began, earning the woman’s attention. “My daughter is in there…would it be alright if I went in and saw her?”

The nurse offered him a kind look, but replied, “I’m sorry, but visiting hours for the NICU have been over for a few hours now. You’ll have to come back in the morning.”

Almost as quickly as he’d gained it, all of Ash’s poise evaporated. He had no idea visiting hours were even a _thing_. He just assumed he’d be able to see his baby whenever he wanted.

The again…the _Pokémon Master_ probably could.

A chill overtook him as soon as the thought hit. Ash had vowed to never use his title to get his way. He absolutely _loved_ being the Pokémon Master, but he _hated_ the idea of using it to his advantage. Ash really just wanted to be a normal person. He didn’t want to get special treatment just because of who he was.

But as the nurse started to walk away, for the sake of his wife and daughter, Ash made a split-second decision to ignore his own convictions and called out to her, “hold on!”

The nurse turned back around, and Ash offered her the most charming smile he could manage. “Even though she’s the daughter of the Pokémon Master?”

Ash swore he had never seen someone’s face change so quickly. It pained him tremendously, but he fought to keep the boyish grin on his face. After further appealing to her with an autograph, Ash was granted access to the NICU with the promise that he would keep his visit short and quiet.

He slunk in, knowing full well he shouldn’t have been in there. But then he reached the incubator all the way in the back, the one he’d targeted from the other side of the window, and all of his guilt dissipated. 

For the first time since she’d been born, he was gazing at his daughter. And this time, no one was taking her away from him.

She was so tiny…even smaller than her brother. She was also hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes and beeping machines…and she was so still that it started to make Ash nervous all over again. But then he saw her chest rise and fall in a gentle rhythm, and he was relieved once more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a nearby chair and pulled it up to the incubator, taking a seat beside the large plastic contraption. For a while, he just sat in silence, staring at her. He wasn’t exactly sure what else to do. But then it began to bother him just how quiet it was, and he remembered Misty’s words.

 _You’re her father, Ash. She needs_ somebody _to be there for her. I can’t stand knowing that she’s all alone._

“Hi,” Ash greeted softly, feeling strangely formal. “I’m your daddy.”

He wasn’t sure if she would even be able to _hear_ him, let alone recognize his voice. Everything he had read and been told claimed she would, but he wasn’t sure if he believed that. Especially after everything she’d been through.

Until he saw her eyebrow twitch. It was ever so slight, and if he hadn’t been looking so closely at her, he might’ve missed it. But he’d seen it for sure, and he knew that meant she’d heard him…and probably even recognized him.

The biggest smile appeared on Ash’s face as he leaned in even closer. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

Again, the baby’s eyebrow twitched, and this time, she turned her head towards him. 

Taking a closer look at the plastic bassinet, Ash realized there was an opening that lined up directly with the girl’s head. Slipping his hand in, Ash allowed it to float in midair for a moment before lowering it and gently stroking his daughter’s hair with his fingers. That got the baby to begin moving her arms and legs, if only just a little bit, and that alone made her look far more alive.

“You really were lonely…” Ash breathed. “But look at you now!”

He moved his hand so he could instead gently rub the top of hers. In a surprisingly swift motion, however, the baby grabbed onto Ash’s finger, and refused to let go. He gawked at the image: her whole little hand barely even fit around his digit. And yet she held onto it as tightly as she possibly could, obviously finding some degree of comfort in the connection.

 _She’s so strong for such a tiny thing,_ Ash thought to himself as he grew teary eyed. _It’s amazing._

“I’m right here,” Ash tenderly promised her, giving his hand a little shake. “I’m not going anywhere. I love you so much, baby girl.”

And so, he stayed just like that, silently watching his daughter as she kept her grip on him, completely forgetting what he’d had to do to earn this moment.

* * *

Aiden and Michelle were both transfixed. Once she finished the story, Misty offered them a soft smile and stated, “now you know: the one and only time your father ever used his title to his advantage.”

“So…Dad did it just to go and see me?” Michelle marveled.

Misty nodded her head before sheepishly admitting, “I suppose it was my fault. In that moment, your dad would’ve done anything I asked. Even if it meant going against his own morals.”

“Whoa,” Aiden breathed. “Dad must really love you a whole lot to do something like that!”

“He does,” Misty confirmed, her smile widening. “He loves all of us a whole lot! And that’s why he’d do anything for us.”

Michelle’s smile somehow managed to widen. She just _knew_ there had to be a good reason for her father to go against his own personal rule! Knowing that it was all to see her when she needed him the most made her even more proud of him.

“Hey, are you guys having a party without me?”

Misty, Aiden, and Michelle all looked towards the house. The back door had just opened up, Pikachu running towards them while his amused trainer looked on.

“Dad!” Michelle beamed, jumping to her feet and running over to him while a pleased Misty and Aiden watched. She pounced at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him as big of a hug as she could possibly manage.

“Whoa, that’s some power!” Ash chuckled, hugging his daughter right back. “Some greeting, too!”

Michelle grinned as she pulled her head back. “I’m just really happy to see you; that’s all!”

“Aw, I’m really happy to see you, too!” Ash returned. “You know I love you, baby girl.”

With a soft giggle, Michelle nodded her head before putting it down on her father’s shoulder. Sensing she wasn’t going to let go of him anytime soon, Ash instead carried her back over to Misty and Aiden, who had busied himself with scratching Pikachu between the ears.

“She sure is being affectionate today,” Ash noted, nodding towards the girl in his arms. “Not that I’m complaining! But…any particular reason why?”

Misty smirked and shrugged her shoulders. “You know your daughter!”


End file.
